


To Cherish the Bloody Thorn

by emmals16



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types, teenage mutant
Genre: Alternate Universe - Past Lives, Blood, Good Older Sibling Leonardo (TMNT), Past Lives, Protective Leonardo (TMNT)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24519802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmals16/pseuds/emmals16
Summary: ~Splinter rubs a hand down his chin, eyeing his four sons carefully, “I believe this might be a spiritual warning.”Leo snaps back to attention almost aggressively, “A warning?”“Unpleasant dreams from all of us depicting the same individuals...it seems likely that something is coming to fruition that the spirits wish to bring to our attention.”~
Relationships: Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT), Donatello & Splinter (TMNT), Leonardo & Splinter (TMNT), Michelangelo & Splinter (TMNT), Raphael & Splinter (TMNT)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	1. Awash

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by IDWs concept of the turtles having past lives that are interwoven in their conflicts. It takes place mostly in the 2003 universe, but isn't tethered specifically to that version.
> 
> (Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the TMNT franchise.)

They have dreams sometimes. Flashes of places they don’t recognize and people they’ve never met. Nothing seems unusual, though. Almost familiar. And that might be the most unnerving part about it. 

Michelangelo dreams of fire and screams, sure green eyes forcing him to focus on them while he’s dragged away willingly to someplace  _ better _ . He finds comfort in that, and always manages to go back to sleep. 

Donatello dreams of holding a limp hand, water running somewhere— like a river. He can never explain through reasoning why he might dream this. He always assumes it must be something he watched or read, nothing else makes sense. Though, he can’t imagine why he would watch something like that...

Raph dreams of being surrounded. He always gets the impression of them being foot ninjas...but they’re not. He finds that out after the first few times he dreams the same dream. They’re normal people— mothers, fathers, children, elderly. No weapons, just sneers and eerie silence. He always finds himself at his punching bag regardless of how much he tries to calm himself down. 

Leonardo dreams of many things. Every time, he finds himself waking at 4 a.m. and he stumbles down to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. The dreams range anywhere from being attacked to  _ attacking,  _ and then to falling off a tall building. It’s been years since he’s been afraid of heights enough to incapacitate him, but everytime he finds himself waking from falling spastically, he’s desperate to place his feet on the floor. 

None of them speak about these dreams. None of them feel the need to. They aren’t abnormal. They’re a strange type of normal...a familiar link to something they can’t explain. 

It’s fine, until it isn’t.

Until the dreams come more often and more aggressively.

Until they start haunting them all. 

— 

Mikey’s the first to bring attention to the matter. 

Not even a minute past 4 in the morning and his scream is loud enough to probably be able to be heard topside. It takes only moments for everyone in the lair to find themselves in the youngest’s room. Leo’s pulling Mikey out of his fetal position gently, murmuring softly in Japanese while Raph barks question after question. Donnie only stands there, rubbing his eyes tiredly, grease still adorning his forearms from working on some sort of contraption in his lab only moments before. He’s the only one holding his weapon at the ready, the edge of being up all night fueling him. 

“Damn it Mikey,” Raph’s voice growls as the youngest sits up, “What happened? Spider? Thought you saw the boogie man—”

His smirk gets wiped off his face as soon as he sees tears running down Mikey’s face. Leo pulls Mikey closer, pressing him to his plastron, looking helplessly at Donnie like he has all the answers needed at that time while continuing to whisper comforts. Raph takes an innate step forward, but does nothing more than that. 

Mikey begins mumbling something about seeing a woman, slashing at people with her sword viciously before coming after him. How there was so much blood. How there was no escape. 

“My sons?” Splinter is a dark shadow in the doorway, and yet he’s a beacon for the three of them. Mikey shifts in Leo’s hold so he can see their father and the three older siblings feel sudden relief as the tears finally stop. That relief doesn’t last for long. 

Seeing the look in their sensei’s eyes, how wide they are when they take in the scene before him and how his fur is tousled like he was fighting in his sleep, they feel stones drop into their stomachs. 

“I already know, Michelangelo,” He says, a sad smile spreading across his face, “I think it is time I speak with the four of you.” 

—- 

“Wait, wait, wait...so all five of us have been havin’ the  _ same _ dream, and we’re all just okay with this?”

Leo rolls his eyes helplessly while Splinter rests his hands securely in his lap at Raph’s restless posture and frantic words, “They are not the same dreams, my son, but they are of the same individuals, I believe. And I fear there is little else we can do at this time to rectify this occurrence.”

The red-banded turtle crosses his arms while Mikey finally speaks up in a small voice, “So we’re going to keep having them...how long?”

Splinter sighs, glancing over at his eldest who’s staring thoughtfully at a burning candle behind Splinter, “I do not know much more than you do, I’m afraid, but I have a feeling…”

Donnie’s the one who finds himself intrigued at the prospect of finding out why this is happening to them. If not for the sake of getting even a miniscule amount of peaceful sleep, then at least to have the satisfaction of actually  _ figuring it out _ , “You’re feelings are rarely wrong, Sensei. Just saying, it’ll probably end up helping figure this out if there is an actual solution.”

Splinter rubs a hand down his chin, eyeing his four sons carefully, “I believe this might be a spiritual warning.” 

Leo snaps back to attention almost aggressively, “A warning?”

“Unpleasant dreams from all of us depicting the same individuals...it seems likely that something is coming to fruition that the spirits wish to bring to our attention.”

Raph grumbles something, moving restlessly in his kneeling position while Leo, Mikey, and Don all look at Splinter in startled amazement. 

“Do you think it has something to do with the foot?”

“Perhaps I should increase security, then.”

“Geez, we never get a break do we?”

Splinter’s ears twitch, “Be silent, my sons,” and their voices immediately turn off, “Let us not panic. I believe the best course of action for right now would be to stay alert, and to try our hardest to understand these dreams and the content they hold.”

“Meditation might help with that,” Leo offers. 

And Raph once again grumbles something under his breath while Mikey pouts sheepishly and murmurs, “Or, you know, more sleep. Sleeping to have the dreams to understand the dreams...sounds about right.”

“You didn’t seem to be having such a great time this morning with your dreams,” Donnie says, “you sure you want to go through that  _ more _ ?”

Mikey only looks at the floor glumly, not bothering to respond. 

“Then we’ll just continue as we are,” Leo announces, placing a gentle hand on Mikey’s shoulder, “And we’ll try our hardest to understand what our dreams mean. Eventually, we’ll be able to get over this, okay?”

— 

It’s two weeks later when Raph gets shot in the thigh. Donnie explains that, though he’s not a doctor, he could easily stitch it up since it hit nothing vital. Considering how close to the femoral artery the bullet was...Leo doesn’t even want to think about how lucky they are. 

“Leonardo, explain what happened out there tonight.”

Leo can barely manage to look at Splinter, much less address him without sounding like his world is ending, “We ran into an unknown enemy— they had numerous people armed with melee and ranged weapons alike. A woman with purple hair is the one who shot Raph, I don’t know much else about the people who attacked us other than her.”

“What information did you get off of her?”

“Not much,” he admits, “Just a small insignia on her breastplate. It looked like a flower...a five petaled flower with circles on each petal. Other than that, I saw no clues of value.”

“I see…” Splinter studies Leonardo for multiple moments, noting how his son didn’t even seem to notice the lull in their conversation, “My son?”

Leonardo snaps back to attention, “Yes sensei?”

“What troubles you?” 

Leo seems hesitant to answer. Even still, he finds himself able to lock his gaze with Splinter’s, holding is solemnly, “You remember how you told us that you believe that our dreams are a warning?”

Splinter’s ear perk at this, “My son, is something concerning you enough to believe it is what the dreams are about? I understand that you have been working hard to translate your own into a conceivable story…”

“Yes, Sensei,” He says, his blue eyes, “I think I know who the dreams are warning us about.”

Splinter feels his fur bristle at his son’s tone, “Is it the woman you encountered.”

“No, no,” Leonardo hesitates a moment more, staring into the candlelight on the far side of the room, something haunted stirring in his eyes. 

“Sensei...I think,” Leonardo exhales heavily, “I think the one who the dreams are warning us about…is me.”


	2. Betrayal

“That’s ridiculous as Hell.”

Leo’s head bows further, eyes downcast. Donnie and Mikey find their attention swapping between their oldest and the second oldest who has proceeded to explode upon hearing Leo’s theory. 

“Raphael!”

“Seriously, sensei? You’re buyin’ this?”

Splinter’s ears jerk back, a glare settling on his features. It’s enough to silence the humorless laughter that has begun leaking from Raphael, “If it is a concern of your brother, I would think that is enough reason to look into it.”

Now Raph’s head bows slightly, mimicking Leo’s posture, “Yes, sensei.”

Master splinter sighs, gazing at his two other sons to gauge their response to the theory. Donatello sits with a thoughtful look passing between his older siblings, seemingly already trying to piece together exactly what Leo might mean by this. Michelangelo, on the other hand, stares with concern forward at an unspecified point past Splinter’s shoulder. 

“Now,” Splinter begins, settling a gentle hand on his eldest’s forearm, “Why do you think this, Leonardo?”

The lair creeps into an uncomfortable silence as Leonardo works through his thoughts, kneeling on their usual meditation mats and avoiding all gazes around him. It’s unusual— the oldest always being perfectly prepared to share any thoughts and any advice. Splinter’s frown deepens. 

“That woman...the one who shot Raph?” Splinter nods and Raph stiffens beside him, finally raising his head, “Her and I spoke while I was trying to chase them away from the area.”

Donatello is the one to respond first, “I thought you told us you could catch up with them...you said you didn’t know why they attacked us.”

Leo shakes his head, “I didn’t find out exactly. None of it made sense, but it gave me an uneasy feeling, I suppose.”

“Here we go again with uneasy feelin’s,” Raph mumbles and avoids the scornful look Leo gives in return. The oldest huffs with frustration, clasping his hands together and Raphael at least has the decency to look guilty over his vexing remarks. 

With a nod of approval from Splinter, Leo continues, “Nothing she was saying made sense. She kept going on about the a clan and vengeance…? But, she looked...she looked  _ scared _ of me, sensei.”

“We are talking turtles, dude.”

Leo shakes his head, “Not because of that Mikey. She didn’t seem phased when she first saw me. Only when I started fighting back. She grew angrier and angrier. But, that’s not— that’s not what got me thinking.”

Splinter removed his hand when he sensed his oldest’s frustration beginning to bubble, knowing that comfort is the last thing an individual who feels trapped wants. 

“That marking she had on her breastplate,” Leo looks up to Splinter to see if he remembers the symbol’s mention. And when Splinter motions to continue Leo taps his own plastron right above his heart, “I see the same symbol repeated in my dreams.”

Mikey clicks his tongue when his mouth falls agape, leaning forward to catch a glimpse at the oldest. Donnie only sideways glances Leo and Raph is full on glaring at the guy, “That don’t mean that the dreams are warnin’ us about you, Fearless.”

Leo’s voice is small when he responds, “It was...just a feeling.”

~~~

There’s silence when Splinter realizes he’s beginning another dream. 

Just the calm ambience that comes with being outside at night. The moon shines high, a waning crescent bright enough to illuminate the gardens that surround him. It would have been tranquil if Splinter had not already realized that he was expecting something to go wrong.”

“I’ve come as you’ve ordered.”

Splinter moves without control, looking behind him to find a young girl kneeling in the grass, her head bowed. Long black hair falling over her face in a mass of uncontrolled waves. Her clothing is ripped, bloodstained. 

Splinter recognizes the aftermath of a battle easily. 

“Have you spoken with him?”

The girl nods, “I have just returned from doing so now.”

Splinter nods knowingly, turning back to his view of the garden, “Then I suspect that the conversation did not prove beneficial.”

There’s a pause, “No it did not.”

Splinter sighs, hands clenching, “Then you know what must be done.”

The scene ends abruptly. A loud scream making Splinter’s spirit coil in surprise as the girl’s face flashes into his vision along with a symbol painted in white, reappearing on the girl’s clothing moments later. A flower. The girl lunges, sword in hand, and slashes Splinter down. 

Splinter awakens with a lurch upward and a muted yelp. 

Somewhere further in their home, he hears an accompanied shout from one of his children. 

He does not get up to investigate, already knowing the cause. 

~~~

It’s halfway through the next day’s training session when Splinter realizes why the detail of the flower marking has stuck with him so much more than he has allowed any other detail to do. 

Leonardo stands when Splinter calls for him to spar with Donatello. He draws one of his katana slowly, eyeing his brother with anticipation. No hesitation is shown. No fear of harming someone he loves with his own blade. When Leo lunges forward, slashing as Donatello the same way he has a thousand times before, Splinter flinches. 

The flower in his dream was planted in the exact same spot that Leonardo had tapped on his plastron. 

And that flower just so happened to be the symbol of the Hamato clan— his Master Yoshi’s clan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are going to be relatively short, and written in a sort of drabble/prose format.   
> Just for future reference!


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